M2 is now like the Nintendo Seal of Quality for (shmup) ports.

Still have a working physical cart of this, what an incredible game. IDK if you noticed it from trial and error but the little puff colours show if you're dealing damage or not. Red is good and Blue is bad, though the blade weapon doesn't display the puffs. Favorite part was learning how to sneak thunder sword uses in vs bosses for big damage or to kill off annoyingly tough stage enemies. Good to see it got a great port. You should check out Thunder Force 5 sometime!

Not sure if you discovered this yet but you can hold a button combo when the game starts to access a configuration menu, this lets you change the difficulty (easy, normal, hard or maniac), set how many lives you start with, and also access the soundtest. On the original Sega release you'd hold A and press start, on the Switch that translates to holding Y and pressing X.

Sega ages gave us this beauty but I’m deeply saddened we never got Daytona USA 2!

Happy to have found this channel. I had Thunder Force 2 and 3, as well as Gaiares and R-Type on the genesis and SNES as a kid. Can’t wait to download this after work.

Happy to see you finally taking on my favorite shmup! I hear the damage indication complaint a lot, but I never had a problem with that as a kid. it's subtle, but intuitive. When you see the little orange explosions, you're doing damage. When they're the little blue explosions, you're not. On the final boss, yes, It's a bit less obvious at first, but that's a great fight. And yes, the Switch port is fantastic. I was so glad to see it get the love from M2, and get highlighted for release.

Thanks for the review! I'm a fan of the Thunder Force games and your criticisms are completely justified. It seems unfair at first trying to figure out what is an environmental hazard or if you are damaging the boss. But, you eventually get a feel for it and it becomes a lesser issue after replaying those parts. Also thanks for highlighting one of the main mechanics of the Thunder Force series..... how important it is to pick the right weapon for the right situation. Thunder Force AC (basically III) is a nice port with a lot of the same features by M2 as well.

I still have this for my MegaDrive. My favourite moment has always been when the stage 7 boss goes down and "Metal Squad" kicks in for round 8. I know I'm not alone in this. :)

Gotta hand it to you, serious upgrade in the KZfaq handling. I see you adding info bars to promote past videos, having better closing cards with Call to Actions, and separating content through timestamps (this will severely improve watch time, engagement and retention). Now in regards to Thunderforce, Thunderforce AC includes the ship from this game which is kind of interesting. Regarding Musha, well Compile members left to form Raizing... Perhaps that'd be an interesting topic to cover in the future, analyzing what ended up as heritage from Compile to Raizing. Also interesting to see you talk about consolized vs arcade shmup experiences. A recent shmup that is absolutely console-oriented in its design is Ginga Force.

New subscriber. Your reviews are really nice! It feels like having someone casually sit down with me and show off a game. I like in ways that this isn't heavily edited. I hope that makes sense. Thank you!

My fav shooter ever. Simple as that.

Tremendous game, and that music, holy smokes!

Great appreciation for this game, from someone who isn't basing it on nostalgia too, which is nice to see! Be sure to check out their other games like TF3 and Elemental Master. Gaiares, Truxton and Slap Fight are good shooters too on the Genesis/Mega Drive. I think in the TF series on Genesis if you listen closely to your shots they make more of soft hit sound (put-put!) when you're hurting a boss versus when you're hitting something its shielded by. These games had low ROM size for animations (4 to 8 megabits).

This game looks so nice! The scenarioes are really amazing.

The switch actually has configuable controls in the system settings I believe

this is really an exceptional good port! Button mapping and save states should be a standard, there is even an option to reduce the slowdown that occurs on original hardware. I also share the complains about it, like not knowing when to damage a boss. It took a while until I noticed the hit effects change from blue to red when hitting weakpoints, but actually I like those details. Still didn't beat the final boss, I should get back to it. Thanks for motivating me!

Its pretty obvious the developer LOVEs them some Dokken.

ThunderForce 4 one of my favourite Sega Genesis game 🕹❤️🕹❤️🕹

Thunder Force AC is an excellent subject for a future video for a number of reasons: 1. It's the arcade port of Thunder Force III, which on the shmups forum top 25 for years was way ahead of TF IV - #2 overall in the oldest one, behind only Dodonpachi: shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=12784#12784 2. It's much easier than TF IV, but puts up enough of a challenge to still be entertaining (though most of the bosses are complete pushovers). Combined with how cheap and accessible it is on Switch, this makes it maybe the ideal answer to the "what shmup should a beginner start with?" question. 3. It's interesting in that it's both a console and an arcade game (and the only TF game to show up on a Nintendo platform via the SNES, albeit in a not so great port). It also rocks, the soundtrack kicks ass and some of the visual design is fantastic.

Love horizontals and TFIV it's one of the big ones, got it original for my Megadrive time ago, with TFII and Hellfire

This and Gaiares were my favorite shmups on the Genesis.

SEGA 16 bit ports on Nintendo Switch are awesome. I was very impressed with this one, wich is certainly my favorite game of all times. AC is good also. Though I would have loved to see TDF III instead, with AC as a bonus.

I had the same difficulty with the bosses. Couldn't understand whether I was hurting them or not. Eventually I gave up on this game. After your review I will continue my struggle. Thanks for the awesome content!

I already played many "unofficial" Sega ages. Back in the day people hacked Sega ages vol 17 on PS2. It allowed you to emulate any genesis ROM you wanted and play on your PS2. I payed this game all the time.

Keep banging out the top notch content....Neko Navy by Xmas doo it 😺😺😺

Really wish they had Thunder Force II in the Genesis Collection.

Owned this in 1992 for the Megadrive - practically gave it away a few years later (what an idiot). Great review 👍

One of my all time favorite Shmups. This game is one of the main reasons I got into shmups.

Thank you for the review. It is great to have a real shmups expert reviewing these games.

I just happened to click the OST of this game from my recommended while doing some coursework I think and I was hooked... I didn't actually buy the game till on Switch but I haven't played much of it as much as I'm aware of M2's excellence in preserving and enhancing classics of all kinds (played a few SEGA Ages on 3DS already). With save states and a bit of free time, I'm sure I can make this Shump my own soon but I want to try to soldier through without that assist first especially as if it is a console game first where I expect the game to be easier to get into than quarter munchers, not that Genesis games didn't hustle to extend their playtime too. EDIT: "Close to console experience" made me chuckle.

A bosses weak spot exhibits a red ricochet circle when it’s shot , any other part is blue

This game rocks, I had it cib for Sega Genesis but sold it when I got this version on my switch. Love it!

Hey Mark! Been an off and on fan of shmups throughout my life, but the recent release of Crimzon Clover on the Switch lead me to your podcast and youtube channel (which I've been voraciously consuming since). Thank you so much for all the work you've done over the years, it's really high quality and introduced me to things I had no clue about (e.g. - exa arcadia). Two questions: will you be doing a CC switch review soon? I know you have a high opinion of the game, and that generally it's getting reviewed well, but I'd like to hear your take on it. And do you have an introductory recommendation for an arcade stick for switch that has a moderate price point (or just recommendations in general)? Now more than ever I want to really focus on 1 cc and high scoring, and think a proper set up is in order. Keep up the great work, you've got another mega fan. : )

Thunder Force IV is quite a lot better then MUSHA for me, Thunder Force IV is probably they best old school horizontal shmup and horis are better on the Switch.

Regarding the input rebinding aspect so many ports lack - absolutely in no way, shape or form a solution, but the Switch allows you to rebind inputs on a system level. Honestly the option to rebind inputs should be inustry norm, no idea why it isn't.

The bad things it's not at widescreen

I agree this port is awesome. I hope SEGA does more with the Technosoft acquisition!

As great as this port is i kind of wish they went the extra mile and ported the Saturn version instead, unlike the MegaDrive/Genesis version it has no slowdown at all when the screen gets hectic and all the voice samples are a bit clearer and less grainy which is typical of an MD/Gen game

Save states should only be field saves (like in the Game & Watch version of Super Mario Bros). So it's like if you pause the game when you save. After you resume it, you can't go back to your original field save but you gotta go on. This way you don't feel like you're cheating and it's much more rewarding. I'm playing this game atm on the Sega Mega Drive Classic and I am going for the highscores. I only save the game to keep the highscore chart, which normally resets every time you turn off the console. I wish there was a version with field saves and a highscore save function. Of course, I can do all that with the save states, but those make it so tempting to 'cheat'. The guy IS right btw, you learn the game better if you save before a boss and try the boss over and over. But still, it doesn't invoke the sense of accomplishment that a normal playthrough gives me. Note that I suck at shmups, I just want to get better and improve my highscore or kick a friend off the first place in the highscore chart. Damn, I miss games that were all about improving your highscores and beating your friends at it.

The best shmup after life force.

Knowing your opinion about the lackluster zerodiv ports in general... I wonder if you've checked its work with Zero Gunner 2-. Man what a disappointment compared to the original. This game looked good when I saw it on the eshop but kind of dismissed it for no particular reason, I'm changing my opinion halfway through the video though Finished the video, opinion changed :D I'll give it a go! Good video

Loved the reviewand agree with most of your points.. Yes it is a great shoot em up.altough not perfect. The weapon system is much more Better than most shooters of the era but still hás flaws. I don t like to lose weapons when dying (powerups levels of weapon i don t have a problem). . I think it is a design choice that only Benefits great players. Plus i think boss Battles are longer than should bé (not for dificulty, but more because of the númber of shoots needed), specialy considering the lenght of the stages.

always have been. they ported gunstar heroes to the game gear

in thunder force V i think they nerf hunter that make them flexible but kinda weak. the free way weapon that however the OP weapon in TFV.

I can beat Thunder Force AC in my sleep, but this game just claps my cheeks every time. 😩 Such a great game though.

I really want this port I just don't have the urge to buy a switch...

Thunder Force IV and M.U.S.H.A. gets a lot of Holy Grail status praise maybe even for future proofing reasons (quality being high enough to still be upheld in modern day). Aren't there some honorable mentions for genesis that you can name? One of my greatest hits is Battlemania Daiginjou a.k.a. Trouble Shooter Vintage. A japan only genesis stg that is so enjoyable even now. Music is a standout.

Are you not gonna talk about that one killer soundtrack called "Metal Squad"? There's a remake version too. Pls I beg of you

I just went to Switch eShop and they only have Thunder Force AC. Where can I get Thunder Force IV?

I never get used to the hunter weapon, I barely use it in certain occasions, (Never shoots where I want or need) in fact I don't use homing weapons on shooters games because I prefer presicion over fire power even if makes the game harder. I used to play and beat Turok 2 Seeds of evil with only the "Predator like" metal disck or frisbee, A tons of fun. 👉🏽 - - - --〰️💿 👽❓ 🤞🏽 - - - -- 💿 💥❗ 🖐🏽 💿〰️-- - - - - 💀💬

What are you talking about scrolling effects that's the first level and you're not even supposed to have that weapon on the first level and when you stay down at the bottom you're not seeing the clouds once you go up to the top and see the the clouds rolling effects and the mountains all going in parallax obviously you didn't go to the top of the stage you stayed at the bottom

I'm playing through this right on original hardware. It has 1 frame of lag. In my experience the majority of nes, snes, tg16 and genesis games have 1 frame of lag baked in. The slowdown in Thunderforce 4 is really getting to me. Can you recommend a game with little to no slowdown? Console or arcade is fine.

Classic horizontal shmups are dead... for sure 😭😭😭

Lo sparatutto migliore...a mio parere ancora oggi è imbattibile.

They took out the infinite lives code for the Switch that the Sega Genesis version had. Plus they made the game much harder, they ruined it!

100

This is a stupid rom with an emulator 🤣🤣 Not enhanced sound or music.???